Steve Hayes on the Northern Alliance

On tomorrow’s radio show, Steve Hayes will be our guest starting at 12 central, 1 eastern to talk about his new book, Cheney: The Untold Story of America’s Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President. I’ve read a little over half of the book, and it is excellent. It is, really, surprisingly good, not because Hayes isn’t a terrific journalist–he is–but because most journalists can’t sustain a book-length narrative. That takes a different set of skills, which Hayes displays by taking Dick Cheney from his sometimes-wild youth in Nebraska and Wyoming, to his academic career as a political scientist, to his years as a rising star in the House of Representatives–Cheney’s favorite time, it seems pretty clear–through his tenure as Secretary of Defense, during the first Gulf War, and up to the last six years as Vice-President.

These days, Cheney is the bete noir of the wacko left, so it is interesting to see the praise that has been heaped on him throughout his career by liberals like Ted Kennedy. A life-long moderate, Cheney’s devotion to his country’s service as Vice-President has enraged the contemporary Democratic Party.

One of the many interesting features of Hayes’ book is Cheney’s interactions with the CIA over his career. It is remarkable, in that context, how often the Agency has been wrong. No wonder that Cheney developed a skeptical attitude toward intelligence, while at the same time placing a high value on confidentiality.

Anyway, it is an excellent book. We’re looking forward to having Steve with us; to listen on the web go here.